The document discusses the "polynomial theory" of motivation, which proposes that an individual's motivation is determined by multiple factors that each carry different weights and change over time based on life circumstances. It uses the example of an employee, Anne, whose primary motivators are her boss and salary currently but may change to factors like work-life balance if she has a family. The document argues that organizations cannot directly motivate employees but should understand individual motivational factors and create an environment where motivation can flourish. It stresses the importance for HR and managers to continuously understand employees' motivations through communication to take appropriate actions.

1. Understanding your Employees’ Personal and Changing Motivational Factors.
MOTIVATION: THE POLYNOMIAL THEORY
A Different Approach
A great learning source for people that work in the Human Resources field is
generally that of interviewing candidates.
This process allows for in-depth conversations with individuals that come from
diverse backgrounds and have different experiences, that can many times lead to
finding new ideas and enriching thoughts.
During an interview with an excellent candidate for a Trade Marketing Manager
position, I discovered a new approach to motivation, one that I call the Polynomial
Theory. The definition for polynomial is a similar expression in more than one
variable. This mathematical definition also applies to the Human Resources field.
During my conversation with the candidate, he explained the reasons why he
would change from his current job to the one we were offering. The candidate told
me that his motivation to work was a combination of different factors, these factors
in turn, had a different relative weight, and the sum of these factors made up his
motivation to work.
“As a polynomial” he said.
What Motivates People
From Maslow’s Theory of motivation to our days, pages and pages about human
motivation have been written. Behavioral scientists, psychologists, and business
people, have searched to understand what makes people do what they do.
Organizations are constantly looking at different ways by which they can “motivate”
employees, improve workforce morale and create better work environments.
The fact is that motivation is not a small topic, many times the results of
individuals and teams, relate to their motivation.
Any individual can produce different results, depending on the degree of
motivation he has when performing a task, project or activity.
I believe that organizations cannot motivate their employees; instead, they can
create a work environment where individual motivation flourishes.
All individuals have different motivational factors; but, if they find the right
environment they will create their own self-motivation.
Some organizations apply “motivational plans” to boost employee morale. Many
times HR professionals are asked; “to motivate” people or create programs that will
do so. Companies that implement this type of programs usually get meager results
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2. within the short term. During the long term these superficial actions have a
negative effect, as people’s apathy and cynicism grows.
Many times managers believe that if they have a problem with their employees’
morale, the company can create a “magic” morale boosting campaign that will
solve all the problems.
On the other hand organizations that really care about employee motivation have
ways of collecting data about the work environment, then the upper staff members
talk to their employees on how morale can be improved, and take corrective
actions.
Employee motivation is usually at a high level when the organizations, the
individual objectives and values are aligned.
Motivational Factors
It is very important for managers to understand that different factors motivate
different people. We call these factors “motivational factors”.
It is also key to understand that not all people are motivated by a single factor;
instead they are motivated by a series of factors.
The motivational factors change during the course of time, greatly depending on
the particular phase that an individual might be going through, whether it be in his
personal life or career.
When people are asked what factors motivate them to work, we generally receive
answers, such as:
• The organization for which they work.
• The work environment.
• Their boss.
• Money.
• The achievements they can produce when they play a specific role.
• Recognition.
• The power that a position enables them with.
• Status.
• Their peers, team and co-workers.
• The work schedule.
A simple way to expose these factors is by means of a polynomial, whereby we
add the elements that motivate a person.
Let ‘s take Anne as an example:
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3. Anne’s motivation = Salary + Her boss + Power + Work Schedule + Work
Atmosphere + Co-Workers.
Each factor also bears a different weight in Anne’s motivation formula:
Anne’s motivation is equal to: Salary (20%)+ Her boss (50%) + Power (10%) +
Work Schedule (10%) + Work atmosphere (5%) + Co-Workers (5%).
In Anne’s case, her biggest motivation to work comes from her boss, followed by
salary, power, work schedule, work atmosphere and co-workers.
Constant Change
Motivation changes depend on the individual's personal life and career phase (as
well as many other instances).
In Anne’s case, being a recent college graduate that is taking her first steps in a
corporation, her boss is the primary source of motivation. Her boss is an excellent
coach and provides her with guidance and continuous training.
The motivation factors might change as she wants to apply for a loan to buy a
house, then salary can become a more relevant motivating factor.
If Anne gets married and has kids, work schedule might become a key factor in
determining her motivation to work in a specific position, as she wants to spend
more time with her kids.
The polynomial theory gives us a vision as to how motivational factors interact and
vary, depending on the person we are analyzing and the timing when the analysis
is being made.
What can HR Professionals Do ?
As HR professional I believe there are 2 key areas were we can make an impact:
HIRE, people that will be motivated in the environment that they will work in.
To do so, we need to explain candidates in great detail the work environment they
will be exposed to, and ask about their motivation.
TRAIN managers to continuously ask and understand their people's motivation so
they can help create a work environment that motives their people.
So, What Do We Use It For?
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4. Understanding people's motivations is a key competency to being an effective
leader, manager or team member.
If we understand the motivation factors, it will be easier to create a work
atmosphere where motivation flourishes. There is not a unique formula as to how
to create this atmosphere. Nevertheless, if we understand the motivation factor, we
will be more likely to take actions that create employees’ satisfaction.
If we do not understand this, we can take actions that are neutral or even
counterproductive. For example, if an employee is motivated by work related
achievements and we give him a salary increase, probably this will have little effect
on his motivation. On the other hand, if we assign him to a relevant project, this will
probably have a positive effect on his behavior.
As organizations cannot magically motivate employees, it is the role of leaders,
managers and team leaders to continuously monitor the motivational factors of
their employees. This continuous exercise will allow them to take the right actions
and to improve individual motivation.
Understanding the dynamics of how individual motivation works can make the
difference between a successful leader and one that is not.
Miguel Premoli
July 2004
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